The reason why I don't like Bino's appearance on this sketch is because I'm very emotionally attached to this character. To the point where I can't stop thinking about him even for one day.Since I was a child, I always had a favorite character in a cartoon or game. I always followed this character's interactions the most, but they never fully entered into my imagination. But that unexpectedly changed when one day, following a link from DA, I entered into a webcomic. Housepets. And met him.There was a dog who belonged to the secondary characters, but he was one of the shining ones. Mostly negatively. A jerk, greedy, spiteful, always causing trouble. yet, when I followed comic and tried to look at every aspect, in appearance and in dialogue. I already believed he was adorable in some way, but there were moments when he smiled and whole expression changed. Two things were proven to me. First, Bino had one of the most developed mimics, which I found all adorable. Even when he was angry, he looked cute. Second, Rick Griffin is the master of observation when it comes to someone's behavior. Smile can change you completely, even if it's just a moment.The dog is mean spirited and always seeks trouble or wants to bully someone to prove that he's stronger and those who are weaker should step aside. But there was something I noticed. An inner struggle. Something that wants to come out, but yet he stays mean. Megalomaniac, obsessive, who perhaps is misjudged because no one really truly knows him.But what I also loved in Bino was his appearance. Green eyes, long years I would love to pull, slim, which added to the famous HP legs was charming. And the neck... He was playing a tough guy who demands loyalty and respect from other dogs, but his appearance was showing that he was physically weak and he shouldn't behave like that. The way how he was narrowing his eyes, how he was posing... matched with his behavior, it made a perfect body language to me. Just by looking at him I could see he was someone mean, yet capable to be adorable in some way. Ideal combo.For the first time in my life, I found a character I could totally relate to. I also can be rude, look upon others with superiority, egoistic, though I fight with that for years. but I'm also weak. And often underestimated. I found my ideal in a fictional world. A character I totally understood, even beyond in what was happening in the comic. It worked over my imagination so hard that it completely absorbed everything we call dreams. To the point where I just can't stop thinking about him. For two years since I follow this comic, I've been thinking about Bino every day. And I anxiously awaited to see him in a strip. I experienced everything what happened when he was taking a part in action, like I was there. And I always just loved to watch him. How he looks.I'll confess that I'm a photographer with a wild imagination, which always led me to daydreaming. I'm sick and twisted. Unstable. But thanks to the dreaming of Bino, I managed to start building my life. For years I was thought that I should always be strict and not allow my mind to go too wild. Even today, my parents just hate the fact that I'm a street photographer, rather than someone after university. But the author of this comic, Mr. Griffin, and the character he created, Bino, showed me that I can be the person who I feel I should be. And not be ashamed. Thanks to looking upon Bino, I understood that I might be a sick weirdo, like all "normal" people think about artists, but I can use this as advantage and do wonderful things. And also by watching Bino, have strength to fight inside me things that are ugly.I also waited for the sketches of V3 designs with anticipation. I was wondering how my favorite will look like. Maybe his fluffy ears will bet longer and the fur on them more bushy. Or perhaps his eyes will change for even better...The second batch was posted and I opened it instantly. Looking at all characters, I saw my favorite one... as a fatso!At this moment my muscles got limb. For 15 minutes I couldn't stop staring at the fat dog. I felt like my inner world started to crumble. It was not Bino I was looking at. It was someone totally else! Not the same dog I felt such strong sympathy!Pudgy posture is completely off to me. The current design works perfectly with his personality, giving true authenticity to his language body. Seeing him with a gut totally crushes the charm I feel for him. It's not actually the so called ringleader who is wacky, but some lazy slob.I totally cannot understand such change. The current design is really good. The sketched V3 is not making him go forward, as it is in terms of King and the ferrets, but backwards, pushing him aside from other characters. I cannot understand such change, it killrd the character I learned to feel so strong. I don't have the feeling that he's going to be changed because of author's sympathy, but more to promote King, who already is the most popular and loved by people character, by transforming Bino into ugly, pudgy spaniel like mutt. I can't understand either why he has to be so different from Joel. I liked the fact that they were almost similar to each other. They were sibling after all and at this point author proved again that he's the master of observation, as in real life such thing happens often.The V3 sketch of Bino is really not Bino, but some other dog. I really don't want him to go this way because it destroys everything I love in this character. It should stay as it is now. Such sacrifice is really unnecessary. It pains me to see him like that so much.

Please, don't take it like I was trying to cause pain to the author of this wonderful webcomic. But my inner world might be turned by 360 degrees and at this moment in in a mode of a frightened child who defends his plushy toy from being torn apart.

Why would a physical change affect a character? I am sure he will be the same way. I also doubt King had anything to do with it. Bino is the one we all love to dislike, he has many enemies in the neighborhood....

I also like the chubby Bino...

_________________My charactersEverybody has a story to tell. What's yours?

I think the problem is that, like me, he doesn't think Bino's personality lends itself to him being chubby. He's a big supporter of traditional dog things like not liking cats, chasing the mailman, and presumably being fairly active, which would likely leave him in pretty good shape, though not as good as Fido. Plus, he was accepted into the K-9 academy, which again means that at least at that point in his life he was in pretty good shape. I just can't imagine him being chubby.

Actually, it kinda makes sense that Bino is A LITTLE chubby, after all, he usually sleeps to afternoon according to one strip, and his favorite meal is pizza, so the calories must have up to him, even if he is as active as it seems.

Thu Oct 25, 2012 3:54 am

Punchy

Joined: Tue Jul 24, 2012 1:26 pmPosts: 910Location: Cascadia

Re: See New Character Designs!

He could just be a hypocrite.Or maybe he's depressed?Nah, that's not like Bino...

_________________Panda Panda Panda

Thu Oct 25, 2012 4:11 am

Gren

Joined: Tue Mar 20, 2012 10:47 pmPosts: 1177Location: Argentina

Re: See New Character Designs!

The point is that if you don't like it it's fine, everyone have their own likings, but it's necessary being so dramatic just for that? It's not the end of the world.I mean, everyone can express their concern about something, but what disturbing me is when people can't accept anything and go saying FAIL this and that without giving a chance. Maybe there's a reason for that, you just have to be more patient to see what Rick have in mind. And if someone is unable to reason it, I do it for them: nowhere does it say that this going to be definitive, probably is just temporal.

This is not the first time that this happens. The same happened when Peanut and Grape ending up in differents couples or when Pete talk about Dragon being manipulative. It's fine if you don't like it but it's not when you can't give a chance to anything. A good story has to have surprises, sometimes are good, other times bad, may you like it or not, you just have to live with it and wait to see what else this story have prepared for the future. If not what's the point of following a story when you know everything in advance? We are not the artist so it is normal if we don't like everything, indeed could be strange if we ended liking everything religiously.

Well I think I talked too much, so in short, we have to be a little more softer with criticism and at least give a chance to things and wait to see what Rick have in mind about that before put him on the stake.

Please don't take this by the wrong way. I don't argue with anyone in specific and I don't trying to fight with no one neither offend you. I just asking why is so hard give a chance to whatever the artist do when something isn't of your liking

P.S.: what's the real problem? you don't like Bino getting fat or you don't want any character getting fat?

_________________

Thu Oct 25, 2012 1:03 pm

valerio

Game Master

Joined: Mon May 25, 2009 6:53 amPosts: 19011Location: Italy

Re: See New Character Designs!

I agree with Gren.In the end, Rick has definitely proven he can keep the comic the best I've ever read on the web. I guess I'll adapt to Bino's new look...after all, I love his personality, that's what makes him an interesting son of a charming young woman

Some of you guys are getting sensitive when those pencil drawing are not the finalized looks.

but we have no idea what the finalized looks will be. and until we do, Our opinions may or may not be able to change your mind on the finalized version, making it more to our liking. but if not, whatever, it's your character.

Why would a physical change affect a character? I am sure he will be the same way.

Like I said earlier, to me, not only important is his personality, but also his appearance and body language. Without body I learned to adore for those years, I cannot look upon personality. It distorts my perception.Take Peanut for example. Cute, charming like a child, innocent, hyper enthusiastic. All of that is magnified by his body - face, eyes, ears, fur, the way he moves his body during some situations. You think Peanut would still maintain his cuteness factor if he became pudgy?I said earlier, I love his current appearance. I cannot imagine him pudgy.

@Gren

Thank you for kindly explaining your point of view, in return I will give a kind answer.

First of all, I never stated that those changes are Mr. Griffin's failure. Like you said, everyone can express their concern about something. That's what I'm doing. I said what I think about Bino's change and I did it without hiding something behind. All what I said was what I honestly felt. But I did not attack Mr. Griffin, saying him that what he's doing is just plain stupid and he should do it the way I want, not the way he wants.

I have a very high respect for Mr. Griffin. Not only because he's an author of a webcomic that I believe it choose new standards for the comic universe. But for what he does overall. He has a strong will. Always goes forward in life, despite the hardships on the way. Independent. He knows how to manage time, because I find very interesting to see him make a script for a comic, draw it, make artwork and write novels at the same time. That requires heck of a control over your mind and time. And as I said earlier, he's a great observer of human behaviors, which he wonderfully shows that in a comedy comic with cute, talking animals. For me, Mr. Griffin is a great example of true artist. I highly admire him and I wish I could be like him. To have the power to show the entire world that you can do wonderful things and give other people strength to have faith in yourself and perform activities, without being afraid that something will go wrong or people won't like what you do. And I always trusted in what he's doing.

But you see, there's something I noticed recently. I keep a track on what Mr. Griffin says about his activities and I found quite intriguing when he said in an interview on YT that a lot of people who read his comic get upset when something bad happens to King. Indeed it's an interesting phenomenon because I browse this forum for quite a time ( including archives) and whenever there's an arc about King, a lot of people get very emotionally engaged in what's happening to him. And they're always very afraid that something bad might happen to him. That happened many times. And Mr. Griffin also expressed that he cares about such feelings. That doesn't stay unnoticed.

Second is the refreshing thing. Mr. Griffin stated in his journal that he's somehow forcing himself to do what he thinks everyone else wants. That means some big changes are coming, because he not only will do the comic the way he wants, but also he will try to met with what people currently want from him. So in some way, we are all invited to work on those changes together.

That's why my intention was not to attack Mr. Griffin by telling him that he sucks because he made Bino fat. The deal with King and people worrying about him, the comments about the Cosmic nerd stuff, Mr. Griffin telling about people's expectation from him and the storytelling and the appearance of sketches made me believe that I should express what I honestly felt for Bino's design. And there's no greater virtue than telling the artist what you honestly think about their work.

And believe me, what I said earlier was not easy for me to post, because I fully exposed my feelings to people who are particularly strangers. Either I could be ridiculed, called stupid, accused for making drama or pushed aside. But I took the risk and broke one of the rules I gave myself - never tell Mr. Griffin what to do and just trust him completely because he's well aware of what he's doing. It's his story after all. His world who he shares with us. But I had to give him an honest answer of what I really think about those sketches. He deserved it. Perhaps hiding my thought could later cause bad consequences?

You think why those sketches appeared? Why Mr. Griffin wants us to see the progress on changing character drawing style? Answer is very simple. Because he's doing changes with his readers interaction, he wants to know what people will think about the characters' new appearance before he will finish the final design. He cares about opinions. That's why Brent is right when he said that we don't know yet how final results look like and we debate about sketches now. There's a saying: better think before doing something, not after. And that's why I believe that showing sketches is a good movement.

I'll repeat once again. I don't like Bino being pudgy. In my subjective opinion, it doesn't match to his personality, behavior and body language. It ruins the imagination of the dog who we know from the very beginning of the comic. Because of being pudgy, no one will actually think of him as a megalomaniac dog with a complex of superiority, but a lazy slob who loves to sit on the couch in his house whole day. The dog presented on sketch, in my opinion, is not Bino. It's someone else. I explained precisely in my last post why I believe it's like that, but of there's someone stubborn and still will want to know what my point is, I'll try to work over better explanation.

I'll admit that maybe I overreacted and I should have shown my point of view in a different way, but that's who I am. And I'm not ashamed of it. And I just say what I think, what I feel, because I believe it's a right thing to express yourself, rather than keep it in you.

And I understand that people have their opinions and likes. That also includes Mr. Griffin, the creator of Housepets!, who's opinion will always be the most decisive. Some may like pudgy Bino. I respect that fully. But I don't like it, and I believe I have right to express that. Am I right?

Gren Wrote:

P.S.: what's the real problem? you don't like Bino getting fat or you don't want any character getting fat?

I don't like Bino getting fat.

And before I finish, I want to gove an answer to a cerain person who, I surprisingly noticed, is concerned about current status of my psychological condition. Yes, I have depression. I'm not ashamed to confess it. And what are you going to do about this fact now?

_________________I'm a bookworm!

Thu Oct 25, 2012 4:55 pm

valerio

Game Master

Joined: Mon May 25, 2009 6:53 amPosts: 19011Location: Italy

Re: See New Character Designs!

OK! It's official: I LOVE Bino's new design. Though it's...odd to see him with that build, it fits if he's part beagle. it's not anti-aesthetic as the preliminary sketches suggested.And sasha's cutemark = FTW

Just voted today (Just like everyday!) ~ Will there be any new character sheets today?

I'm setting it up so new sheets come every Tuesday

_________________I'm sure the cold hand of science will be able to overcome his magical powers

Sun Oct 28, 2012 4:01 pm

Esper

20th Level Paladin

Joined: Wed Nov 30, 2011 4:15 pmPosts: 2415Location: Where I should be

Re: See New Character Designs!

Gonna say it now. The new designs are just unappealing as a whole. They certainly do have their good qualities, they do definitely show more of the characters personality and all, but... They just kinda make feel icky overall... It could just be that I am not used to the new designs or that I'm afraid to change what I feel is already good for fear of screwing it up or something like that. But what do I know? I'm certainly not the creator of any comics. In any case, good luck and peace Rick.

possible yes, but we don't know how that side of the family is related. We know Bailey is fox's cousin, but is her dad or her mom Bill's sibling? if it's her mom, then she;d likely have taken her husbands name, and so would Bailey.

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